


Lucky Number Seven

by grumkin_snark



Series: And They Lived... [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 04:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14205582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumkin_snark/pseuds/grumkin_snark
Summary: She and Arthur haven’t exactly been sleeping in separate bedrooms, but it’s been ten years since Ashara was born. She’d thought she was done, that the gods had given her all the children she would have. Her fortieth name day came and went a year ago, after all; she’s too old for this,surely.





	Lucky Number Seven

**Author's Note:**

> For @epeolxtry. Happy (belated) birthday!

It takes her a while to figure it out. Or, more specifically, to accept it.

 _It’s just one of my illnesses_ , she tells herself when she can’t keep any food down.

 _It’s just the cooks trying richer recipes_ , she tells herself when she notices a softness to her hips.

 _It’s just my age_ , she tells herself when her breasts grow tender and her desire becomes insatiable.

She and Arthur haven’t exactly been sleeping in separate bedrooms, but it’s been ten years since Ashara was born. She’d thought she was  _done_ , that the gods had given her all the children she would have. Her fortieth name day came and went a year ago, after all; she’s too old for this,  _surely_.

When she can no longer deny what’s happening, she seeks out the maester and, with no shortage of embarrassment or apprehension, asks him to examine her. She clings to hope, until he emerges with a sympathetic smile. “Congratulations, princess,” he says. “You have been blessed once more.”

She thanks him, but as soon as he leaves, the fear begins to set in. She’s abysmally out of practice in caring for a newborn, for starters, and does she even  _want_  another? Aliandra has a babe of her own, and Dyanna, freshly wed, would like as not have one before long as well. The thought of telling everyone about this, about having to explain to Aliandra’s little one that the girl will be  _older_  than her aunt or uncle, is mortifying.

And  _Arthur_ , what would  _he_  think? He’d thought they were done having children, too—what if he wants no part of this?

She doesn’t get a chance to talk to him until after supper, for he’s taken over Garin’s training while Daemon nurses Arianne through a nasty chill, and by the time he comes to their bedroom, she’s bitten her nails down to the quick.

“What is it?” he asks. She’d smile at his instant worry if she weren’t so anxious. Even the prospect of saying it aloud is terrifying, and so she merely takes his hand and places it on her belly. He frowns at first, and then his eyes widen. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. So is the maester.” He takes a step back and sits on the edge of the bed, stunned. “Listen, if…if you don’t want this one, then—”

“What?” Arthur’s grin is nothing short of jubilant. “Elia, how could I  _not_?”

One look at him, and her worries melt away. They’d done this five times before, hadn’t they? They could do it again, together.

Her pregnancy proceeds as effortlessly as each one prior, and she goes to the birthing bed knowing full well what to expect. At least, until the labor pains don’t stop even after the midwife delivers her baby girl. Six and a half minutes later, a  _second_  babe is born: a boy.

 _“Twins?”_  She glares up at her husband beside her. “I  _hate_  you.”

Arthur laughs.


End file.
